St. Edward’s University makes history with their socially connected graduation
To celebrate and commemorate their 125th anniversary, St. Edward’s University made history on May 8th at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas with more than 180 students, parents and faculty participating in the first ever socially connected graduation!
Instead of having students share their day, separately, through Facebook and Twitter from their phones, St. Edward’s decided to use Whrrl so their students could all connect their cameras and share their perspective of graduation with each other, and the audience. We were so excited to be part of this momentous event for St. Edward’s and help these graduates document one of the most important events of their lives thus far…it was far cooler than we could have imagined. After all the graduates received their diplomas, St. Edward’s queued, “Celebrate” from Kool and the Gang, and the auditorium filled up with laughter and noise as pictures and comments displayed on an overhead screen for all attendees to see. Their graduation, achievements, congrats and photos were all threaded into one Whrrl story to pass onto friends and family who weren’t able to make it – something each of them could keep forever and look back on to remember.
Thank you St. Edward’s University and the 2010 graduates for letting us join you on your special day. Congratulations!
See a Whrrl story from graduation with more than 100 points of view here:
Find all other stories and check-ins at the Frank Erwin Center for St. Ed’s 2010 graduation here.
Whrrl and Travel Channel let you decide “Who Wins the Food War” in your town
Heated debates are taking place across the country, with loyal fans passionately defending the local eateries and iconic dishes that make their towns famous. Where’s the best pastrami sandwich in New York? Who serves the top Italian Beef Sandwich in Chicago? What’s the #1 hot dog in Detroit?
Today, Travel Channel is premiering a new show called Food Wars, which aims to answer these questions. Food Wars will pit the nation’s most famous culinary rivals against one another for a final showdown, where a blind taste test will settle the score on these long-standing rivalries. And you can choose your side too, with Whrrl.
Starting now, you’ll be able to join Travel Channel’s “Food Wars Society” on Whrrl. It’s simple: just check in to one of the official Food Wars locations around the country and you’ll be accepted into the Society. As a member, you’ll be able to share stories about your own taste tests at these rival spots and declare which you think is the winner. Inspire others to compare these spots too – and help settle these legendary food wars.
But that’s not all. Later this week, we’ll be launching the all-new version of Whrrl. Whrrl 3 will provide even more ways to discover Food Wars content, including:
- Societies Tab: You’ll be able to view the Food Wars Society and all Societies within Whrrl in one place. As a member of the “Food Wars” Society, you’ll have the exclusive ability to view special challenges, view recommendations and create recommendations for your friends.
- Ideas Tab: You’ll also be able to view challenges on the new Ideas tab when you’re nearby any Food Wars location and save these challenges on the new “want to” and “did it” lists. You can also recommend these challenges to friends by placing them on their “Ideas” list.
Food Wars is one of the first among many Travel Channel Societies that will be launching within Whrrl. Stay tuned later this week to learn more!
And don’t forget to catch the premiere of Travel Channel’s Food Wars tonight, Tuesday, March 9th at 10 PM EST, as Travel Channel settles the Buffalo Chicken Wing war and Chicago’s infamous Italian Beef Sandwich rivalry. To learn more, you can visit the show’s Web site.
UPDATED: 61 Whrrl Societies now live!
In January, we announced the first expansion of Whrrl Societies to 28 cities throughout the Unites States. If you’re still unfamiliar with the concept behind Whrrl Societies, they are groups of like-minded people that have the same real world patterns. For instance, I’d consider myself a “foodie” because I like to go to restaurants in Seattle that are known for their top-rated cuisine. If you also have a passion for fine dining, you’d be a foodie, too- and we would be in the same Society.
Today we’re excited to roll out our first set of 26 nationwide tag-based Societies. (And there are more than 625,000 places in cities across the U.S. that count toward membership in these Societies!) Do people call you “Norm” when you walk into the local bar because you have a seat waiting for you? Chances are you’ll be in the Bar Fly Society. Are you pampered, head-to-toe, from all the spas and salons you go to? Sounds like you’re the perfect person for our Princess Society!
You can find a list of Societies near you that you’re not yet a member of on your “Profile” page in Whrrl’s iPhone app. Here you’ll be able to read about each Society, and see locations near you that count toward membership into the Society. Each check-in to a place associated with these Societies will count toward unlocking the membership for you. We’ll also automatically share when you are accepted into a Society on your Facebook and Twitter pages (if you’ve linked them). Here is our list of new Societies and the establishment type associated with them.
UPDATE: We’ve added more over the last three weeks, for a total of 61 (random, we know). Here is the complete list:
- Hit ‘Em Straight (golf)
- Get Well Soon (hospitals, doctors offices)
- Pop, Lock & Drop It (dance clubs)
- Lemongrass (Thai food)
- Gadget Geek (tech & gadget stores)
- Escargot (French cuisine)
- Sshhhh (libraries)
- Battered & Fried (fish ‘n’ chips)
- Foot Long (hot dog joints)
- Finger Lickin’ (hot wings)
- Bollyfood (Indian food)
- Tofu Cutie (vegetarian)
- High Roller (gambling & casinos)
- Down Home Cookin (southern)
- Sweet Tooth (dessert)
- Bueller (teenage, high school)
- Luck O the Irish (Irish pubs)
- Einstein (universities)
- Greasy Spoon (diners)
- Field of Dreams (baseball)
- Diamond (karaoke)
- Supermarket Sweep (grocery stores)
- Hold the Mayo (delis)
- High Steaks (steak restaurants)
- Snow Chaser (ski & snowboard resorts)
- Animal House (universities)
- Up in the Air (airports)
- Roller Coaster Junkie (amusement parks)
- Love Birds (bridal)
- Homer’s (donut shops)
- Gym Rat (gym)
- Shaken, Not Stirred (cocktail lounges)
- Pinball Wizard (arcades)
- Slurpee Society (convenience stores)
- Societe de Café (cafés)
- Weekend Brunch (Breakfast)
- Chinese Pagoda (Chinese cuisine)
- Supersized (Fast food)
- Strange Brew (Brewpubs)
- The Dude Abides (Bowling)
- Yo Quiero Mexican (Mexican cuisine)
- What the Pho (Vietnamese & Pho cuisine)
- Pie in the Sky (Pizza)
- Cultured (Museums, Theaters, Galleries, etc.)
- Furry Friends (Pet stores, Veterinarian, Pet services, etc.)
- MiniMe (Kids places, parks, zoos, toy stores, etc.)
- Princess (Tanning salon, nail salon, massage, etc.)
- Bar Fly (Bars)
- All American (American cuisine)
- Pitmaster (Barbecue joints)
- High Jolt (Coffee shops)
- Dough Boy (Bakeries)
- Do It Yourself (Home improvement)
- Mamma Mia (Italian cuisine)
- Wasabi (Sushi joints)
- Fisherman’s Wharf (Seafood restaurants)
- Golden Popcorn (Movie Theaters)
- Starbucks
- Do Not Disturb (Hotels)
- Hamburgler (Hamburger places)
- We Scream (Ice cream )
We’ll be rolling out many more over the next month. What societies will YOU be a member of? We can’t wait to find out! Is there a society we’re missing? Let us know – email us with suggestions and comments at societies@whrrl.com
Whrrl brings the history of rock and roll to the palm of your hand
Today, we announced a partnership with Paul Allen’s Seattle-based Experience Music Project and the iconic New York venue Max’s Kansas City to bring the history of rock and roll to Whrrl. So, what exactly does this mean?
Much of our nation’s history of rock and roll has not yet been digitized. The information is in books, manuscripts, interviews and even memories, but not accessible on the Web – much less on the mobile phone. By bringing the rich history of rock and roll to Whrrl, anyone can now say “I was here too” when they check in to locations around the country and experience this history firsthand. It’s a one of kind experience!
Here’s an example: If you visit the Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle, you’ll see napkins from hotels where Jimi Hendrix wrote the lyrics to some of his most famous songs. What hotel was that? Why did he write those lyrics on that occasion? What’s the story? It’s now possible you may check into that exact hotel and learn what inspired Hendrix on that day.
Whrrl is bringing over 125 stories at over 100 places to six cities around the nation, and more to come. Here’s the current societies that you may stumble upon and unlock membership:
- Grunge
- Jimi Hendrix
- Minneapolis Punk
- Prince
- LA Rock ‘n’ Roll
- LA Punk
- New York Rock ‘n’ Roll
- New York Punk
- Washington, DC Punk
- San Francisco Psychedelic Rock
- Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Bruce Springsteen
- Max’s Kansas City Society
To learn more, you can read the entire press release here, and read the blog post TechFlash wrote about it here.
Announcing new Whrrl Societies across the U.S.
As many of you know, we recently introduced Societies in Whrrl with version 2.3, which launched in December. Societies connect you with like-minded people that check in to similar places. They’re a great way to meet new people, share recommendations and learn about new places to go. For example, I love wine. Being a part of the Seattle Wine Bar Society means that I can learn from other oenophiles about great pairings, varietals to try, etc. I can even find out other hot new wine bars to hit up in my city. How cool is that? After your first check in on Whrrl v2.3, you should have been accepted into the Founders Society and read a note from our CEO and Co-Founder, Jeff Holden.
I’m excited to announce today that we launched 17 more cities participating in Whrrl Societies! That means we have 28 cities total. Is your city on the list?
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Boston
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fayetteville, AR
- Honolulu
- Houston
- Kansas City
- L.A.
- Las Vegas
- Lawrence, KS
- Miami
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Portland
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Washington DC
In each of these cities, you’ll find the following Societies: Foodies, Brewpubs, Indie Music, Sports Bars and Wine Bars. A few cities have additional Societies including Fashionistas, Independent Bookstores, Punk Rock, and Rock n’ Roll. We even launched Societies for Whrrl influencers @katjapresnal – The Skimbaco Lifestyle Society – and @scrappinmichele – The Washington D.C. Scrappin’ Society.
Most importantly, Whrrl Societies are all about YOU. We’re adding new cities and Societies every day. Is your city listed? Is your favorite place in an existing Society? Is there a new Society we should create? Did we miss something? Let us know! Send your suggestions to: Societies@whrrl.com and if you haven’t already, download Whrrl today and start checking in to become a member of the Societies that most represent you. After all – You Are Where You Go!
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